Tear Down the Promenade
Last Walk Before the New York Public Library
They blew up a promenade to build a promise.
New York, 1899. As the city prepares to tear down its great Croton Reservoir and build a magnificent public library in its place, an entire world stands on the brink of disappearance.
Through the lives of ordinary New Yorkers, ambitious architects, powerful benefactors, and forgotten dreamers, Tear Down the Promenade tells the story of what a city chooses to preserve and what it is willing to sacrifice in the name of progress.
Rich in historical detail and deeply human, this is a novel about memory, class, ambition, loss, and the extraordinary promise of a place where knowledge belongs to everyone.
Before the lions stood guard, someone had to give up their world.